Mlle Irene Cahen d'Anvers

Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted this portrait of the young Irène Cahen d'Anvers in 1880, and it belongs to the Foundation E.G. Bührle Collection at Kunsthaus Zürich. At 65 x 54 cm, it is an intimate, close-range painting that rewards a slow look at its hair, face and shimmering green background.

Where to see it

The painting is held by the Foundation E.G. Bührle Collection and is located at Kunsthaus Zürich in Zürich, Switzerland. Works are sometimes rehung, lent or temporarily removed, so check the official Kunsthaus Zürich website for current display status, opening hours and ticket information before you visit.

What to look for in person

The cascade of hair

Irène's long auburn hair is the painting's most striking passage. It falls over her shoulders and down her back in loose, layered strokes of warm reds, browns and golds. Stand close and the hair breaks apart into separate touches of colour; step back a few paces and it settles into a soft, heavy mass with its own sheen. Notice how it frames the pale face and how a ribbon gathers it near the crown, adding a small accent of cool colour against all that warmth.

A calm, turned face

The sitter is shown from the waist up, her body turned slightly and her gaze directed away from us rather than meeting our eyes. Her hands rest together in her lap, and her expression is quiet and a little reserved. Compare the handling here with the rest of the canvas: the skin of the face and hands is modelled more smoothly and carefully, while the clothing and background are freer. That contrast keeps your attention on the child's features and gives the portrait its gentle stillness.

The shimmering green background

Behind the figure, Renoir builds a backdrop of foliage from quick, feathery strokes of green and blue. It does not describe a specific garden in detail; instead it creates a soft, vibrating field of colour. Look at the edges where the hair and shoulders meet this background: the boundaries are often blurred, so the figure seems to sit within the air and light rather than being cut out against it. The cool tones of the greenery also echo the blues in her dress and ribbon.

About the painting

Mlle Irene Cahen d'Anvers dates from 1880 and measures 65 x 54 cm. The sitter, Irène, was the eldest daughter of Louis Cahen d'Anvers, a banker in Paris, and the portrait was commissioned by her family when she was a young girl. Around this time Renoir, one of the central painters of the Impressionist group, was taking on portrait commissions from well-off Parisian patrons, and this picture belongs to that phase of his career. He also painted Irène's two younger sisters together in a separate portrait.

What makes the work interesting to stand in front of is the way it combines a conventional commissioned portrait with an Impressionist approach to paint. The pose is formal and composed, as a family would expect, but the hair and background are handled with loose, visible brushwork that treats colour and light as the real subject. The face, by contrast, is more finely finished, so the eye moves from the carefully observed features out into the freer passages around them.

The painting also has a significant twentieth-century history. During the Second World War it was among artworks taken from Jewish-owned collections in France, and it was later returned. It subsequently entered the collection of the industrialist Emil Georg Bührle, and it now belongs to the Foundation E.G. Bührle Collection, located at Kunsthaus Zürich. The provenance of works in the Bührle collection has been the subject of public discussion and research, and visitors interested in this history may find related information through the museum itself.